WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today announced the designation of two key Sinaloa Cartel operatives, Maria Alejandrina Salazar Hernandez and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, a wife and son of drug lord Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman Loera, respectively. Today’s action, pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act), prohibits U.S. persons from conducting financial or commercial transactions with these two individuals, and also freezes any assets they may have under U.S. jurisdiction.

“Today marks the sixth time in the past year that OFAC has targeted and exposed operatives of the Chapo Guzman organization,” said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin. “This action builds on Treasury’s aggressive efforts, alongside its law enforcement partners, to target individuals who facilitate Chapo Guzman’s drug trafficking operations and to pursue the eventual dismantlement of his organization, which is culpable in untold violence.”

OFAC is designating Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar and Maria Alejandrina Salazar Hernandez for their roles in the operations of Guzman Loera’s drug trafficking organization and the Sinaloa Cartel. Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, along with his father Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman Loera, was indicted on multiple drug trafficking charges in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in August 2009. Maria Alejandrina Salazar Hernandez provides material support to the drug trafficking activities of her husband Guzman Loera and the Sinaloa Cartel.

Guzman Loera and the Sinaloa Cartel were identified by the President as significant foreign narcotics traffickers pursuant to the Kingpin Act in 2001 and 2009, respectively.

Today’s action would not have been possible without the key support of the Drug Enforcement Administration as well as that of the ICE Homeland Security Investigations directorate.

Internationally, OFAC has designated more than 1,100 businesses and individuals linked to 97 drug kingpins since June 2000. Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil penalties of up to $1.075 million per violation to more severe criminal penalties. Criminal penalties for corporate officers may include up to 30 years in prison and fines up to $5 million. Criminal fines for corporations may reach $10 million. Other individuals could face up to 10 years in prison and fines pursuant to Title 18 of the United States Code for criminal violations of the Kingpin Act.

Douglas McNabb and other members of the U.S. law firm practice and write and/or report extensively on matters involving Federal Criminal Defense, INTERPOL Red Notice Removal, International Extradition Defense, OFAC SDN Sanctions Removal, International Criminal Court Defense, and US Seizure of Non-Resident, Foreign-Owned Assets. Because we have experience dealing with INTERPOL, our firm understands the inter-relationship that INTERPOL’s “Red Notice” brings to this equation.

The author of this blog is Douglas C. McNabb. Please feel free to contact him directly at mcnabb@mcnabbassociates.com or at one of the offices listed above.